Workman +5H - Hard labour on the C64

Data-Tronic's Workman by Helge Åkesson has been given a cheat trainer and high score saver by Laxity. Graphically this looks like one of those early charming platform games, like Jet Set Willy... But you'll soon notice after dying multiple times from the first enemy on level 1, that this game is rock hard, and it drops you right in at the deep end. The idea of the game is to collect the various items on each level whilst avoiding the fast moving enemies, negotiating the level's platforms and avoiding the deadly traps.

Luckily the game has tight controls, so progressing does become easier as you get more used to the level layouts. And thanks to the High score saver, you can keep trying to beat your high score between plays. There are plenty of levels, and you can choose to start from level 1, 10 or 20 so trying to crack those difficult early levels isn't essential to see more of the game. The game can be frustrating, as falling from a rather short distance will lose you a life, and restarting each level will reset all the items you collected. However, what I liked about it, is the lack of time limit so if you study each level and analyse enemy patterns your patience will be rewarded.

Laxity have added infinite lives, collision detection cheats and you can also turn off the annoying deaths from falling. This is a little known gem of game, and i'm already hooked. Just don't expect an easy ride.